


Wedding Fights and Festivities

by orphan_account



Series: Shirbert’s Confusing Courtship [1]
Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21856429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Anne and Gilbert meet again at Ruby and Moody’s wedding the winter following the Season 3 finale!But Anne never spoke to Winnie, and Gilbert never spoke to Diana. Frustration, confusion, and sexual tension ensue as they prepare for the wedding.Chapter 5 is up!
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: Shirbert’s Confusing Courtship [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611895
Comments: 96
Kudos: 452





	1. Return to Avonlea

Anne was fine. Truly, she was. Sure, she’d confessed her love to Gilbert only to receive rejection in return. Sure, Gilbert had gone to Paris. Sure, he’d married Winnie. Sure, no one from Avonlea may ever see him again, now that he’d moved onto much bigger and better things. However, Anne was over it. And she was fine. Totally and completely fine.

At least, that was what she repeated to herself on her train-ride back to Avonlea the following winter. Ruby and Moody were getting married, and she needed to be 100% happy for them. To do that, she needed to get her mind in order. Anne could not handle being seen as some pitiful, snubbed girl on the happiest day of her friend’s life. It would be much too tragic, even for her.

Anne comforted herself with the reminder that Gilbert wouldn’t be waiting for her in Avonlea to amplify her humiliation. There was no world in which he would make such a long, arduous trip all the way from Paris just for a small hometown wedding, even if it was the marriage of one of his best friend’s. 

Anne was brought out of her deep thoughts by Tillie’s cackle beside her. The girls were discussing Ruby’s wedding night. Anne rolled her eyes, trying to appear aloof when it was clear she was blushing deeper than anyone else. 

Since moving to college, all the girls had become significantly more educated on the matters of reproduction. Not from class, of course, the world still wanted to keep this information from young women, but rather from the older girls at their boardinghouse. Long gone were the days the girls pushed Anne to ask Gilbert Blythe questions about infertility and intercourse. 

Now Anne understood why she felt hot all over when Gilbert and her argued, or when Gilbert looked at her for a moment too long, or when Gilbert just sat too close to her. Or, even more embarrassingly, she now understood what she was supposed to do about it. 

Needless to say, she found it a lot easier to study now that she had some significant distance between her and Gilbert Blythe. Sure, there were other boys at Queen’s College, but they were like wallpaper to her. None of them could come close to getting her blood to boil, or even thaw out for that matter. It was a much less hostile work environment.

The girls continued to titter about... that stuff, and Anne resolutely decided to ignore them. She pulled out her worn copy of Pride and Prejudice and read until the end of the train ride.

When they arrived, suitcases in hand, they were met by their various families and carriages. Matthew was waiting for her, small smile on his face, to take her back to her home. Green Gables.

—

After unpacking and getting settled in, Anne left for Ruby’s. Today and for the rest of the week until the fated day, the wedding party would be getting decorations and food ready for the reception. This included Ruby’s bridesmaids, Diana, Tillie, Josie, Jane, and herself, and Moody’s groomsmen, who Anne assumed would be Billy (gag), Charlie, Moody’s two brother, and Jerry. The Cuthbert’s had volunteered Jerry once they heard the bridesmaids and groomsmen wouldn’t be evenly matched for the ceremony. He was mostly a stand in, but that was fine. It was just for aesthetic reasons, anyway.

Surprising no one more than Anne, Ruby and chosen her to be her Maid of Honor. This completely gutted Anne, and she almost had to hold back tears when she thought of it for too long. No longer was she the friendless orphan girl everyone hated when she first arrived. Now, she was a cherished friend. Honorable. Sure, Ruby had also picked her for her ruthless organization and planning skills, but still. It was quite the honor. She gets the privilege of ordering everyone around today.

When she arrived, most everyone was already there. As Anne prepared to begin distributing jobs and instructions, she heard the door open behind her and then the room exploded in shouts of joy. Anne turned around and felt the wind get knocked out of her. There, swarmed by her friends and classmate, was Gilbert Blythe, smiling and covered in snow.

—

Anne stood there, mouth gaping open. How could he possibly be here? How could he have even made arrangements in time? In general, what? 

Moody asked the question that was on Anne and everyone’s mind: “What are you doing here?” Though he voiced it with much more glee than Anne was feeling at the moment. In fact, Anne was starting to feel nauseous. 

“Sebastian didn’t tell you I was coming? I couldn’t miss the wedding of Moody Spurgeon and Ruby Gillis!” He smiled winningly at the group. “Have I missed much of the preparations?”

Moody responded hastily, “No! Not at all. We were just beginning. And you can still be a groomsman. Jerry won’t mind, will he Anne?”

For the first time, Gilbert’s gaze fell on her. Anne shook her head, knocked out of her stupor. “No, of course not. He’ll be relieved he no longer has to stand at the front of the church, if anything.”

“Great! Then let’s get started. Gilbert, Anne was just about to tell us what to do. She’s the maid of honor.”

Gilbert smiled at her, but she avoided his eyes, instead turning to the rest of the room. “Okay! I asked Jerry to gather my materials before I arrived, so we should be set to begin. Girls, we’ll be preparing the centerpieces, and boys, you’ll all be making the candles.”

Billy chimed in for the first time. “Why are we making the candles? Why can’t we just buy them?”

Anne shot him a look. “They’re prettier when they’re homemade. And we’ll be infusing them with different floral scents so that they’ll give off a lovely aroma during the ceremony and reception.” She said these otherwise pleasant words with a biting tone, probably a little more forcefully than was warranted.

“What, are you afraid of a little work, Billy?” Gilbert chimed in after her.

Anne shot him a look, too, in response to his help, and he furrowed his eyebrows at her in confusion.

Ignoring him, Anne briskly continued with her instructions on how to make the centerpieces and how to infuse the candles with scents.

—

Anne was fiddling with her centerpiece when she overheard Gilbert explaining how he ended up here. She listened in subtly. “...Wait, you all didn’t hear? I mean, I guess you might not have, being away from Avonlea for however many months. Winnie and I... I didn’t propose. I didn’t go to Paris. I’ve actually been attending the University of Toronto.”

Anne’s head shot up, eyes wide.

“It just wasn’t right. I wasn’t doing it for the right reasons, you know?”

Billy laughed, “No, I don’t know. You’re one weird guy, Blythe.”

Anne dropped her centerpiece on the table, standing up and storming for the door. She heard Billy ask “What’s her problem?” but she was already gone. She needed a minute alone.

“Anne?” 

Of course she couldn’t even have that.

Anne whirled around, blazing eyes meeting those of Gilbert Blythe. The object of her affection, and the object of her spite as well. “What do you want?”

Gilbert took a step back at her intensity, eyes wide. “It’s the dead of winter, Anne. It’s freezing outside, and you just ran out into the cold with no coat on for no reason. What’s going on?”

“You lied to me!” Anne gulped. “I mean, to all of us! We all believed you had run off to Paris engaged to Winifred. And now we find out you’ve been galavanting around Toronto instead?”

“Why does it matter so much to you? Would it have changed anything?” He asked, eyes dark and brow furrowed, tone hard for the first time since he’d arrived.

Anne felt as though he’d just slapped her across the face. His feelings for her would still be the same, nothing more than friendly, whether he’d married Winnie or not. “No, I guess it wouldn’t have. You’re right.”

She walked straight past him and back into the house, eyes burning as she held her tears in.

Gilbert looked after her retreating form, confused.


	2. Quaking and Baking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding party gets the food ready for the reception.

The next day, Anne was feeling much better. Truly, she was. She had spent last night reconciling herself with this new information, and she could handle it. 

Gilbert wasn’t engaged to Winnie, yes, but this somehow made his rejection of her all the more scathing. She wasn’t even discarded because he had a better, wealthier, more beautiful alternative. She just wasn’t good enough, period. Like always. Anne was livid and hurt, but she would push through it to help give Ruby the best damn wedding Avonlea had ever seen.

Today, they were cooking at Green Gables. The wedding day fast approaching, the group had to not only make a cake, but also dinners for every guest. This was all done on a budget, as neither Moody nor Ruby’s family was particularly wealthy. Everyone was chipping in their time, though, so it would be stupendous either way.

Anne went downstairs to greet her guests, a list of tasks to be completed. She directed the girls towards the raw vegetables, and the boys to town to purchase some ingredients and haggle the butcher for the meat. Well, most of the boys. 

Gilbert had insisted on making the cake. He even cited the dreadful incident at the fair as to why he should take the lead. She agreed to let him stay because, weirdly enough, he did possess decent baking skills. Anne was a little too ostentatious for a modest wedding, anyway. She hated to give him any credit, but Gilbert was a bit more of a... rational baker.

—

It was made clear to her very soon, however, this was not an option. She realized it after, oh, the fifth time Gilbert asked for her help on a simple white cake. 

“Gilbert!” Anne exclaimed, slamming the knife she was using to cut stems down onto the table. She seethed through clenched teeth, quickly losing her patience, “Do you need me to do it? Are you completely incapable?”

He looked at her, eyes wide with innocence. “No, no, I can do it. But maybe it would be better if we did it together? We always did make such a good T-E-A-M.” He smiled weakly at her.

Anne just blinked at him, flabbergasted that he would even bring that up after everything that had transpired between them. Dumbfounded, she responded, “I-sure, whatever. I don’t have time for this. Let’s just do it.”

“Great!” He grinned his shiny-eyed, signature grin at her, pushing the cake mix towards her. “I’ll start on the frosting. Buttercream, right?” 

Anne nodded absentmindedly, already focused on her cake mix. Gilbert began gathering his things, and she paid little attention to him from then on. 

That is, until he slid behind her to reach for the sugar, hand resting on her waist as he reached into the cabinet above her head. As he brought it down, he whispered “Sorry,” next to her ear, then returned to his station next to her like nothing had happened.

And really, nothing had happened. Everything there was totally innocent. That, however, did not stop Anne from freezing in place, face burning as she felt herself pulse in involuntary arousal. 

This is what the girls at the boarding house talked of all the time, and this is what Anne had certainly not been missing in her time away from Gilbert. How embarrassing! She could feel herself getting hot all over, and from what? A touch on the hip? She needed to control herself.

Anne shook her head, trying to get rid of the torrid thoughts ravaging her concentration. She must’ve gotten too into her mixing, though, as in the next moment she felt Gilbert’s hand holding hers tightly over the whisk in her fist, his face right in front of hers, bringing her stirring to a halt.

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. “You okay? You almost splashed me there for a second.”

Anne looked around and noticed that a couple drops of the mix had escaped her bowl in her violent stirring. “Oh,” Anne shook her head, brow furrowing.

Gilbert smiled, wiping up the droplets with his thumb. Smirking, he sucked the liquid off his digit before winking at her. “Don’t worry about it, Carrots. Tastes good.”

Anne widened her eyes at him, surprised at the nickname and the now brazen flirting. This was deliberate. He was utterly shameless! She knew he was teasing her a little bit, making fun of her for her confession of love all those months ago, and she couldn’t believe Gilbert could be so cruel. Even so, she couldn’t help how much it still turned her on. 

She wanted to be angry with him, but instead Anne squeezed her legs together, relieving some of the tension that had built up, before resolutely turning back to her work. She just had to shake it off. She could deal with this later when she was alone.

“Hey, Anne? Could you try this icing for me? I’m worried it isn’t sweet enough.”

She turned to him, and Gilbert was holding his frosting covered wooden spoon right in front of her face. Anne looked from the spoon to his intent eyes, shaking her head. “No, you try it.”

“I did, I want your opinion.”

“That’s gross, my spit will get in it.”

Gilbert threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll rinse it off! Come on, try it. What are you afraid of?”

Out of options, Anne leaned forward. Just before taking the tip of the spoon between her lips, her eyes locked onto Gilbert’s inadvertently. There, she was surprised by the heat with which he stared at her, his gaze dark as she tasted the white buttercream. She stayed there slightly sucking until his eyes flickered down to her lips. He visibly swallowed, and Anne jerked her head away, broken from her trance. 

Gilbert dropped the spoon into the bowl and took a step closer to her, now barely a foot of space between their chests. Anne was about to protest the cleanliness of the spoon when Gilbert brought his thumb up to her bottom lip, wiping the frosting there away and bringing it up to his own, sucking it off. Staring down at her mouth, Gilbert said roughly, “Never mind what I said before. It’s sweet enough.”

Anne gasped, spinning on her heel and walking quickly toward the staircase. She ignored Gilbert’s indignant call of “Hey!” and the girls’ burst of giggles as she strode by. Anne called over her shoulder, “Finish up without me! I have other maid of honor duties to attend to.”

—

Anne slammed her bedroom door behind her, leaning her back against it and breathing heavily, chest rising and falling rapidly. She squeezed her eyes shut and pulled at the hem of her dress until she could get to her underwear, pushing her hand down and inside to greet her overwhelming wetness. 

She hadn’t had problems with being this turned on since leaving Green Gables and Gilbert Blythe behind, but at least now she had some semblance of an idea of how to deal with the agonizing pressure building up between her legs. Before, she used to sit in bed at night, legs tangled together in frustration, but not now.

Now, Anne ran her fingers clumsily between her drenched folds, biting her lip at the new sensation. Her stomach muscles clenched and she gasped as she found the swollen bud at the top of her sex, making her knees go weak with pleasure. The girls at the boarding house had talked of this spot like it was some tawdry secret, and now she understood why. Anne threw her head back against the door and bit her lip hard to stop her moans as she rubbed herself fast, hard, and unskillfully until finally she felt herself reach blissful relief. 

Anne breathed hard, pulling her sticky fingers away and wiping them on her inner thigh. 

For whatever cruel, vengeful reason, Gilbert was definitely flirting with her, and it was definitely affecting her without her permission. She had to get this under control. Her sanity depended on it. More importantly, this wedding depended on it.


	3. To Be a Woman!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne and the girls celebrate womanhood one last time. The boys interrupt.

The next night, all the girls gathered together outside of Ruby’s home in their nightgowns and overcoats. Ruby had asked Anne to do one of her wild rituals of womanhood to help her celebrate this great transition in her life before her wedding, while the boys were apparently doing their own secret thing. 

And so, the night before the ceremony, they were going deep into the woods, unchaperoned, for a couple of hours of pure, girlish fun. 

Somehow, the girls were old enough to get married, but they still were not old enough to do this alone at night. For that reason, they told no one what they were doing, not even the boys.

—

The girls had spent hours making flower crowns for each other, singing old nursery rhymes, and dancing around the fire, before finally settling in front of the flames to warm themselves as they talked quietly about anything and everything for the last time. Sure, they would be able to do this still after Ruby was married, but it wouldn’t be the same. 

Marriage was a beautiful expression of love, especially in Ruby and Moody’s case, but tomorrow would be the first step towards their transition from girls to wives. It would never be quite the same as when they were children. Tonight, they could still be young, naive girls with each other.

Ruby talked about how nervous she was for her wedding night, Diana wondered aloud if she would ever find someone worth marrying, Josie asked what happened in a marriage once beauty faded, and Anne listened to her friends, offering advice and words of comfort when she could. It was a perfect night, removed from reality.

Anne scrambled up from the ground to stand in front of the girls. She spread her arms wide, calling theatrically into the cold, winter night air, “Tonight, we are women! Tomorrow, Ruby becomes a wife, but never let her forget that at her very core, she is God’s most glorious, golden creation! She is a woman!”

“She is a woman!” the girls called out from their positions on the ground, throwing their fists into the air.

“What do we have here?” called a voice from the darkness. The girls all sat up straight, and Anne squinted into the darkness. Coming into the clearing was the group of boys: Moody, Charlie, Gilbert, and Billy. They were smiling and laughing in good cheer as they approached the girls. Charlie said, “We heard your shouting in the distance and thought you might be Indians.”

Billy had to ruin the good mood, nudging Gilbert with his shoulder and saying, “Don’t worry boys, the noise was just the dog barking. No danger here... just a homely orphan girl spouting nonsense. Am I right, bud?” He laughed, nudging Gilbert again. 

Anne’s exhilarated mood came plummeting down, then turned into red hot anger.

“I have just about had it with you!” Anne clenched her fists at her side, stalking up straight towards him. “It may be true that I’ll never be anything more than an ugly orphan, and it may be true that no one will ever want me. But you know what, Billy Andrews? If I am correct, you aren’t courting anyone presently, either! So it seems as though we are in the same boat for the time being. Until you find a woman, any woman, willing to suffer through a courtship with you, I will thank you to not mention my looks anymore for the remainder of this wedding. Am I clear?” Her eyes blazed hot as she got right up in his face, staring him down.

“Yeah, where do you get off saying something like that to Anne, tonight of all nights? She didn’t do anything to you. It’s not accurate, and it is unnecessary,” Gilbert chimed in beside Billy.

Anne turned her narrowed eyes onto him. She responded sharply, “I’m not 13 anymore, Gilbert. I don’t need your help, and I certainly don’t need your pity. Why can’t you just leave me alone? You’ve certainly had no issue with it in the past.” 

With that last damning remark, Anne fled past them all and back into the woods, bolting blindly into the darkness, just needing to get away. The girls called after her, but she ignored them. She needed to be alone. 

—

A few minutes of walking later, Anne stopped, hands on her hips and shoulders slumped as she tried not to cry. 

“Anne.”

Anne sucked in a breath sharply. Of course. When has he ever been able to let her be? 

She turned to face Gilbert, expression steely, ready for a fight.

Clearly, so was he. His jaw was tensed, feet squared off. “What’s your problem, Anne?”

“My problem?” She laughed incredulously. 

“Yes. Your problem. You’ve been nothing but short and borderline rude to me the entire time I’ve been back. And that line back there, about me leaving you? What the hell was that? I thought we were past this. I thought we were friends. I guess... I guess I just thought we’d finally gotten to the point where we could be upfront and honest with one another.” He rubbed his face with his hands, frustrated. “What happened? What did I do to you to make you so damn hateful towards me?” 

“Are you kidding me, Gilbert?” Anne threw her hands up in amazement. 

“Let’s review, shall we?” She continued. “You come to me, practically asking me to give you a reason not to marry Winifred, and I do! I write you a letter telling you that I love you, and what do you do but write back about your future—with her! Your love—with her! And then I find out that none of it was even real? You want honesty, Gilbert Blythe? That’s laughable! You’ve been toying with me this whole time, so I apologize if I’m just done with it, okay?” 

Gilbert stared at her, frozen. 

“What, nothing else to say?” Anne scoffed. “Typical-“

He cut her off, striding towards her. Gilbert grabbed her upper arms tightly in his hands and kissed her, lips pressing against hers in a passionate, fervent dance as he backed her up against a nearby tree, slamming her into the bark roughly. 

His hands slid up to cup her face as he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Anne moaned against him, twisting her fingers into his hair and pulling, giving into the blissful feeling of Gilbert’s body on hers.

Gilbert trailed a hand back down her body, grazing her breast through her nightgown before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her firmly up against him. Anne gasped into his mouth, sparks of heat erupting all over her body at the feeling of his hardness against her hip and his knee boldly sliding between her thighs. As he rubbed her firmly on his knee, Anne was shocked out of this state of complete arousal and impropriety by her own depraved moan. 

Coming to her senses, Anne pushed Gilbert away firmly, giving her a solid two feet of distance between them. 

“What-“ Gilbert started but was cut off when she slapped him. Hard. His face whipped to the side with the force of her blow, and Anne was reminded of the day nearly four years ago when she hit him with her slate. Back then, she had felt instant regret. Now, she felt only rage. 

“How dare you!” Anne exclaimed in a mixture of disgust and hurt at his indecent, careless treatment of her and her heart. She stormed past him utterly confused, turned on, and angry, and this time, Gilbert didn’t follow.


	4. Wedding Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding and reception.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet chapter just in time for Christmas!

When Anne awoke the next morning, crusty-eyed and exhausted, she was not ready for Ruby’s wedding.

She wasn’t ready to paste a fake smile on her face. To pretend not to be furious with Gilbert. To act like Billy’s taunts didn’t affect her. To feign complete joy for Ruby and Moody when, really, all she felt was awful, awful jealousy.

Anne rolled out of bed.

She could do this.

—

She couldn’t do this.

Anne had made it through putting on her dress and letting Diana pull her hair into an elegant updo with painful pins, and then letting Diana rip the pins out of her scalp after Ruby decided she wanted to be the only one with her hair up. She had made it through setting up for the reception. She had made it to the church and the ceremony without getting the bottom of her dress soaked in the snow. Anne had even made it up the aisle, her arm linked with Charlie’s as he escorted her to the front of the church.

When she looked across the aisle and her eyes locked with Gilbert’s, she very nearly broke. Anne pushed through the feeling gripping her soul that was telling her to run as far and fast as she could, and stayed put until Ruby and Moody kissed, ending the ceremony. Then she filed out with the rest of the church, pretending not to notice Gilbert trying to get her attention. 

—

Later, at the reception, everyone was milling around, drinking, and chatting as they waited for dinner to be served. Everyone was a little drunk by this point.

Anne saw Gilbert making his way towards her out of the corner of her eye, a determined skip in his step, and immediately grabbed Charlie as refuge, pulling him into a loud, nonsensical conversation.

She gestured wildly while still side eyeing Gilbert, watching to make sure he wasn’t still coming her way. He had slowed, and looked less sure of himself, but he was still walking towards them, furrowed brow and everything. Anne only redoubled her efforts, grabbing Charlie’s arm to keep his attention and emphasize the importance of the largely incoherent yammering she was doing. 

Then, many things happened all at once.

Gilbert reached the table, a surprisingly dark look in his eyes.

Billy did too, coming up on Anne’s other side.

Charlie interrupted her and said, voice weak but indignant, “I see what you’re doing, Anne. Now that you’ve seen Ruby and Moody married you have that female wedding fever, and you’re looking to catch a man as quick as possible. But you lost your chance with me last year when you so passively rejected me! It’s too late now, you’re just embarrassing yourself.” 

Anne’s face turned bright red in mortification, about to retort, but it only got worse.

Billy guffawed loudly in her ear, saying in a booming voice, “Oh, this is just too good! Charlie, the only man who has EVER considered marrying you, even thinks you’re a worthless, unattractive, pitiful little woman!” 

The entire room went silent save for Billy’s incessant laughter, and Anne’s eyes welled up with tears. Her nerves couldn’t handle this today, and she had no scathing retort. Everyone was staring at them, either pity or glee in their eyes. Anne felt utterly broken. 

Then, Gilbert spoke up, silencing Billy.

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert is the single most beautiful girl I’ve ever met,” he shouted for the room to hear. Anne turned to meet his eyes, shocked.

He visibly braced himself, then continued. “She alone is the reason I didn’t go to Paris or propose to Winnie. Because Anne is the only one I would ever consider marrying. She is not worthless, or unattractive, or pitiful,” he spit the last word. “Anne is the sun, and despite how distorted communication has become between us, that never once changed for me. Anne, I love you.”

This knocked her over the edge. Anne pushed past him, gathering her skirts in her hands and running out the door. 

Predictably, Gilbert followed her.

“Anne! Anne, wait. I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend to embarrass you again. I keep messing this up somehow-“

Anne spun around to face him. “Did you mean it?” She demanded, a dark, intense look on her freckled face. 

Gilbert swallowed roughly. “Yes. Every word.”

She smiled widely, launching herself at him. Wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body tightly against his, Anne met his mouth in a searing, freeing kiss, trying to communicate everything she’d felt the past couple of years in one touch.

Gilbert pulled away slightly. “So, does this mean you feel the same way?”

Anne threw her head back laughing before briefly kissing him again. “I love you, Gilbert Blythe.”

—

“This is just that female wedding fever, isn’t it?”

“Shut up.”


	5. Winter Wedding #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!!! Sorry I’ve been AWOL for so long! I’ve been having some serious writer’s block with my stories. But I’m back now! Thank you guys for continuing to comment on and support my works during my sudden hiatus! 
> 
> My One and Only is updated too, so go read that if you haven’t! Also I’m about to upload a part two in this series so go check it out in a minute! Happy reading!

The next winter, Anne, Gilbert, and the gang returned home from their respective schools for their own wedding.

It had been an eventful year for the two, to say the least, but none of that mattered now.

All that mattered was Gilbert standing across from her, holding her hands gently in his as he gazed lovingly into her eyes.

Wait, now he was squinting at her. He looked confused. She should probably pay attention.

Anne glanced at the officiant. “Huh?”

The priest gave her a dirty look. “Do you, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, take Gilbert Blythe to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do!”

The man asked the same of Gilbert and then his lips were on hers, kissing her in the way that had become as easy as breathing for the both of them.

—

The rest of the night was just a blur. The after party was full of people congratulating them and telling stories which Anne was certain were both heartfelt and humorous, but she wouldn’t remember any of it. All she could focus on was the feeling of Gilbert’s hand in hers, his ring pressing into her fingers.

When she finally arrived at her and Gilbert’s room, she couldn’t remember how she’s gotten there. Her new husband looked at her quizzically, wondering why she was so quiet and distant the whole night.

“None of it feels real. I keep waiting to wake up back in the orphanage having imagined this whole ordeal. Green Gables. Matthew and Marilla. You.”

He took her hand in his, pressing it against his lips. “It is real. You and me. Every day, forever. That’s the deal.”

“Well, I’ve clearly got the short end of the stick in this one,” Anne responded tearfully, an elated smile overtaking her face.

“You?” Gilbert whispered in a mock-aghast tone, “I’m the one who has to consummate this union with my lovely new wife! What a burden I have to bear.” 

“Oh, hush,” Anne grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and jumping into his in one swift movement. Luckily, the bed was close behind Gilbert, as they proceeded to fall heavily onto it, giggling hysterically. These childish giggles soon shifted into pleasured moans as they dissolved into kissing and grinding on their marital bed, still fully clothed.

Gilbert pulled away slightly. “Don’t you think we’re acting a little prematurely? You’re still in your wedding gown!”

“Oh fine,” Anne pouted, quickly stripping out of her clothes as Gilbert did the same. “Such a waste to only be allowed to wear this beautiful dress once.” 

Then they stood completely bare to one another, not for the first time, but neither had lost the thrill of seeing the other disrobed yet. 

Anne approached him again, kissing him softly but deeply as she pushed him back towards the bed. Their mouths never disconnecting, they climbed on and rolled around together, just pressing their nude bodies against one another, feeling.

Finally, Anne rolled Gilbert onto his back, throwing her leg over his hips and resting her palms flat on his chest.

“Forever and ever and ever?”

“And ever.”


End file.
